John Pagano

The Chargers have struggled to move the ball on offense, but really, they’ve struggled to move the ball on the ground. Only three teams are doing it worse (Giants, Dolphins, Cardinals).

But the good news — and really, there is some — is that the numbers used to be worse.

Running back Melvin Gordon ensured that the team’s per game rushing average would jump when he ran for 105 yards Sunday in the 27-22 win against the Giants. Gordon added 58 yards receiving and two touchdowns, earning him AFC Offensive Player of the Week accolades.

Absent a San Diego team, Week 1 of the 2017 NFL season still generated San Diego connections of note:
Chargers Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts went large in his praise for a rookie, Rams receiver Cooper Kupp. “Kupp’s gonna catch 90 passes this...

There are weirder things.
Like the name “Chargers” being preceded by “Los Angeles.”
But, after all these years, this is a pretty strange sight:
John Pagano standing on a football field wearing black shorts and a black shirt.
The same guy who...

Now what, San Diego?
Another pro football season is upon us, and for the first time in almost 60 years, we don’t have a team in the race.
For your fanship fix, may I suggest a one-year lease with the Atlanta Falcons?
I’ll draw up the paperwork....

A longtime San Diegan is a big reason why Team Spanos believes its first season in Los Angeles will be a success.
Philip Rivers, a San Diegan since 2004 who said he’ll commute to Orange County this season, is a better passer than most quarterbacks...

Dwight Lowery believes in the practice of “pay it forward.”
Even if it means risking his own job, the veteran NFL safety will share football wisdom with a young teammate who seeks his job.
“I have no problem at all being a mentor,” he said. “I...

Pass-rushers get paid, so expect an NFL team to enrich Melvin Ingram this offseason.
Will the Chargers show Ingram the money?
They know him best, having employed the outside linebacker under top football executive John Spanos all five seasons...

James Collins is one of the most established names in his industry, having been elected last year to president of the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society. He also oversaw a Chargers department that PFATS named the NFL Athletic Training Staff...

Seeing John Pagano with the Oakland Raiders will be odd because Pagano had worked the past 15 years with the Chargers, his only NFL employer until losing his job earlier this month.
Pagano worked under outstanding defensive coaches such as Marty...

Bravo, Melvin Gordon.
Following a rookie season that he deemed “horrible,” the Chargers running back vowed to make his mark in 2016.
Consider it done.
Gordon emerged as an every-down running back, scoring 12 touchdowns in 12 games before an...

Good morning.
Quick thoughts on Tom Brady setting a super-high bar for Philip Rivers and other quarterbacks, and the fit of new Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.
1) How is Rivers supposed to keep up with Brady, who was an entrenched AFC...

Sez Me …
It would appear the Chargers’ bandwagon broke down as it rode into the Sunset Strip. Ooh, doggies, even the hillbilly Clampetts safely reached Beverly Hills with Jethro Bodine driving.
The Chargers are to marketing what Gandhi was to...

Gus Bradley began working before he was hired, meeting with Chargers defensive coaches and discussing in-depth concepts at the team’s now-temporary practice facility in San Diego. That was days ago, the team since waiting for him to come aboard formally....

Anthony Lynn spent a good portion of his Tuesday morning in rehearsal — “L.A. Chargers, L.A. Chargers,” he kept repeating to himself, even practicing during his commute to StubHub Center.
There, he was introduced as the Los Angeles Chargers’ head coach...

Thursday began with the Chargers choosing a new city.
Come Friday morning, they had a new head coach.
The newest Los Angeles franchise has hired Bills interim head coach and offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, a source confirmed Friday. This is...

Sez Me …
There are subdued rumblings Dean Spanos has had it with operating the Chargers, that he’s nearing 67 and The Stadium Thing has so exasperated him he’s ready to ride off into the La Jolla sunset, leaving it up to his sons.
Nothing...

Hello, and congratulations.
Seven known candidates were chosen to be interviewed for the Chargers’ head coach position. You are one of them. The pool is diverse, its variance in NFL coordinators ranging from five defensive, one offensive and one...

Quick hits on the Chargers and their search for a new head coach:
1) Most Chargers head coaches hired in the Spanos Era had backgrounds in offense, so it is notable that the six candidates linked to the Chargers so far are five NFL defensive...

Mike Smith and Rich Bisaccia are two coaches the Spanoses might find intriguing if Mike McCoy is let go Monday following his fourth season as Chargers head coach.
Smith, now the defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Bucs, led the Atlanta Falcons to...

Quick hits from the worst Chargers’ loss of several bad ones this season, the 20-17 defeat Saturday to the Cleveland Browns, who were winless and a six-point underdog.
1) Mike McCoy’s grimace/half-smile was a picture worth many thousands...